Aftermath: Kaiya's Shadow
by HorseLoverIceshadow98
Summary: I'm just showing the preview of this story until I finish Rise to Power: Kaiya's Legend, so yes it will have spoilers. The preview's about Kaiya giving up her daughter so her plans will suceed. I may change the preview sometime later but I'm not sure.


Sacrifice

It was a stormy night; wind shook the trees and pounding rain soaked the forest. Though most Pokémon stayed in their warm dens, one was not. A Vaporeon struggled through the gales of wind, carrying her young by the scruff. Though the mother was not affected by the heavy rain, her daughter started crying in protest the moment her soft, newborn fur was touched by it. A small twinge of guilt struck the Vaporeon's heart, but kept walking. The Eevee was born that very day. Only a few hours old and she was already being taken away from her mother.

_I can't believe I'm doing this. But I have to! I can't let any Pokémon think I have a weakness. _

Almost no one knew of her daughter, and the Vaporeon was going to keep it that way. Her child was the only one of four that survived, and the only one with silver fur. Of course she knew the Eevee was a shiny, which would make her much more noticeable by her army of Pokémon if she chose to keep her daughter. The Vaporeon's army contained almost one of every species known to live in the region. All the Pokémon were strong; from the legendary birds Arcticuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, to the small forest dwellers like Wurmple or Caterpie, they were all stronger than any Pokémon. But the strongest of them all was their leader, and it has taken her years to build up her strength and her team. Quite a few them hated her, and the Vaporeon knew of this, but she was too strong and easily overpowered them all. Whoever rebelled against their leader was slaughtered by her, in front of the rest of the army, so they would be smart enough not to oppose the Vaporeon.

After coming to a clearing she stopped as a figure came out of the shadows from the opposite side. It was about the same size as the Vaporeon but slightly smaller and, like the Vaporeon, started as an Eevee. The Pokémon was an Espeon. She was young but an experienced leader, whose team was already a silver rank.

"So Kaiya, you really are giving up your child after all," was all the Espeon said. Her voice was cool with a slight hint of anger. "And I thought you could sink no lower when you had that fight with your lifelong partner."

The Vaporeon set her Eevee down next to her paws. She felt it shivering, looking for even a little bit of warmth with closed eyes. The mother glared.

"First off, Charizard _betrayed_ me. He went against my plans and attacked. Luckily for him he got away with one eye still intact, or he'd be dead by now," Kaiya replied. It's been almost two years since the clash between the Pokémon, and Charizard was still out there somewhere after he became half blind by the Vaporeon, barely escaping her attack that would've finished him off.

Charizard didn't understand, and he never would. Kaiya has traveled much of the region she lived in and seen so many Pokémon picked on by others, for they were too weak to fight back. She wanted to show that any Pokémon could be strong, and as long as they listened to her, stayed loyal, and never rebelled her plans, she promised them homes to live in and strength to defend themselves. Some regretted their decision to join, for they could never leave the team. Of course however, Kaiya did have her darker agendas…

_I locked away my memories of Charizard and me long ago with my most of my feelings. I have to be strong if I am to succeed in my plans, and that means I cannot have any possible weaknesses._

The Vaporeon picked the up silver Eevee in her mouth and walked over to the Espeon until they were face to face. Then she set her down on the soaked earth again.

"We made a deal, Espeon," said Kaiya, as the other Pokémon stared at the shiny Eevee before her. "You will raise my daughter until she is old enough to live on her own, and she will never be told who her real mother is by anyone but me when the time comes. In exchange, I will have your escorts ready by tomorrow morning."

In hopes of discovering new areas and treasures, the Espeon heard rumors of another region across the ocean, and needed escorts for her team in order to get there. No Pokémon but Kaiya was willing to give up some of her team, and knew they probably weren't coming back, but that was fine. Replacing Pokémon was quite simple for a Lucario ranked leader.

Though the two have already made the deal, the Espeon seemed to be second guessing herself. She wouldn't be going to the region herself right away (if it even existed), but would wait until her team members came back with the report. It would probably give her time to raise the Eevee, and Espeon was in need of an apprentice. Still, something was off about the young Pokémon, yet couldn't place it. And it wasn't the fact that she had silver and not brown fur.

"Well?" Kaiya asked, her voice hinted with annoyance. If anyone found them out in the middle of nowhere, it would certainly raise questions, and the Vaporeon's plans would be ruined. This Eevee would take time to raise and would be in a lot of danger. Despite her harsh nature towards many since she started her army, Kaiya was not cruel enough to let her child die or suffer like that, and someday, when her daughter was strong enough, they would meet again.

Espeon sighed. "Alright. I'll take her." Then she added with mocking exaggeration, "But before I go, should I call her the Pokémon she is like every other normal Pokémon around? Or because she's your daughter which makes her _so_ _special_ you'd like me to call her something else?"

As Espeon picked up the tiny, fragile life in her mouth, Kaiya glared and answered, "Iceshadow. Her name is Iceshadow."

The Vaporeon turned back to the direction she came and ran home. She could hear her daughter crying out to her, and the more distance put between them the more heartbroken she felt. Every instinct ached to go back and reclaim Iceshadow. A tiny voice in the back of her head shouted, _What are you doing!? She is your daughter, your only child that survived! Now you abandon her to someone whom you can barely trust? What if you never see her again?_

Telling herself it was all for the better, she kept running. Kaiya felt an enormous amount of invisible pressure drop on her heart, making it hard to even breathe normally. Was this how it's like for a mother to give up a child? In spite the fact that she only took care of the tiny Eevee for a few hours and already grew so attached. She couldn't remember the last time feeling like this, if she ever felt like this before at all.

A stronger, more powerful voice spoke in her head, _Lock away your feelings, and bury them deep. Strengthen your will, remember the plan. If anything gets in your way, crush them! Destroy them! All the power in the world and so much more will belong to you._

_All the power in the world, _Kaiya thought, and smiled to herself. What most would see as a fairytale was real to her. She was so close, and with each passing day, she was inching closer.

…_and so much more…_


End file.
